Sossamon v. Texas
E494930
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act case
United States Supreme Court case
sovereign immunity case
Sossamon v. Texas is a 2011 U.S. Supreme Court decision that held states do not consent to suits for money damages under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act by accepting federal funds, reinforcing principles of state sovereign immunity.
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act case
ⓘ
United States Supreme Court case ⓘ sovereign immunity case ⓘ |
| appliesDoctrine |
clear statement rule for waivers of sovereign immunity
ⓘ
sovereign immunity ⓘ |
| concerns |
religious exercise rights of institutionalized persons
ⓘ
remedies available against states under Spending Clause legislation ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| decisionType | 6-2 decision ⓘ |
| hasArgumentDate | 2010-11-02 ⓘ |
| hasCitation |
131 S. Ct. 1651
ⓘ
179 L. Ed. 2d 700 ⓘ 563 U.S. 277 ⓘ |
| hasCourt | Supreme Court of the United States NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasDecisionDate | 2011-04-20 ⓘ |
| hasDissentingOpinionBy |
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Stephen G. Breyer NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasDocketNumber | 08-1438 ⓘ |
| hasLegalIssue |
Congress’s power under the Spending Clause
ⓘ
availability of money damages under RLUIPA ⓘ state sovereign immunity ⓘ |
| hasMajorityJustices |
Anthony M. Kennedy
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Antonin Scalia NERFINISHED ⓘ Elena Kagan NERFINISHED ⓘ John G. Roberts Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ Samuel A. Alito Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ Sonia Sotomayor NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasPetitioner | Harvey Leroy Sossamon III NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| hasRespondent |
State of Texas
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Texas Department of Criminal Justice NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holds |
RLUIPA’s authorization of “appropriate relief” is not a clear waiver of state sovereign immunity to monetary damages
ⓘ
Spending Clause legislation must express any waiver of sovereign immunity unambiguously ⓘ States do not consent to suits for money damages under RLUIPA by accepting federal funds ⓘ |
| interpretsStatute |
42 U.S.C. § 2000cc
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1 ⓘ 42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-2(a) ⓘ Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalArea |
constitutional law
ⓘ
federal statutory interpretation ⓘ |
| majorityOpinionBy | Clarence Thomas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| originatedFrom |
United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
United States District Court for the Western District of Texas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| petitionerStatus | state prisoner ⓘ |
| result | judgment of the Fifth Circuit affirmed ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
civil rights of prisoners
ⓘ
federal courts and jurisdiction ⓘ religious liberty ⓘ |
| yearDecided | 2011 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.